Page 4 of Love Me Ever After
I arched an eyebrow. “No more so than for a wedding, and that’s usually one day.”
She bit into her mid-afternoon banana. “Fair point.”
“It could turn into a quarterly thing too. Barbara mentioned they could send people here for leadership and development courses.” I crossed my fingers under my desk. While Barbara hadn’t exactly said that in so many words, I knew they sent their staff offsite for various training sessions. Mason had sent me many a drunk message after ‘team-bonding’ evenings when he’d been on time management courses or similar.
“That’s fantastic news. It would certainly give us more of a corporate offering for other potential clients.” Sonya nodded and smiled. “You’d better make sure everything goes smoothly then. Right, I need to go and check in with Francine about this weekend’s tasting menu, I’ll see you in the morning.” She stood up, gathered up her notebook, pen and phone and headed out of the office.
For the next hour and a half, I worked on my emails, made calls to couples enquiring about wedding availability, pleased to know it wasn’t only me who had long, drawn out meetings with our new Head Chef. Once I’d completed everything on my To Do list, I texted Sara.
Ems: What are we having for dinner? Is Tasha around tonight?
I never expected a reply from my best friend straight away. As a beauty therapist, she could be in the middle of a manicure or massage, or worse, a bikini wax. I never liked to think of her messaging me back while she was staring at another woman’s lady bits.
Sara: Tasha suggested going to The Winking Fox. She’s got something to tell us.
Ems: Ooo, gossip! And dinner out. I love Wednesday nights.
I followed it up with a laughing out loud emoji. In all seriousness, since Tasha had started practically living at Luke’s the three of us rarely had girlie nights out.
Sara: Meet you there straight after work? I’ve got an eyebrow wax at quarter to six but should be done straight after. Amber’s locking up.
Ems: Sure. I’ve got a few things to finish off, then I’ll head over. Wonder what Tasha’s news is???
Knowing Tasha, it could be absolutely anything from a new job—she tended to get bored quickly—to announcing she and Luke were going on holiday together.
Sara: We’ll find out soon enough. Gotta go, my client’s here.
I tossed my phone to one side, then made my To Do list for the morning. It would probably be a late one tonight, and I’d likely have a hangover, so making my notes for tomorrow in advance would make it much easier to focus.
Once I’d logged off and locked the office door, I headed to the other end of town to our favourite pub. The late spring evening was warm and sunny, making the short walk pleasant. Not for the first time, I marvelled at the scenery as I walked along the marina, knowing how lucky I was to live in a place like this.
The Winking Fox wasn’t too busy when I arrived. I ordered a cheeky glass of wine, giving me a head start on the others, and found a table. While I waited, I read the menu to decide what I wanted to eat. Given how often we went in there, I practically knew it off by heart and didn’t really need to look, but habit got the better of me.
Tasha was the first to arrive and went straight to the bar. “Hey, Ems, shall I get a bottle?” she called, nodding at my glass on the table.
I shrugged. “Like that’s even a question?”
She laughed. “At least we can get some before Sara gets here.”
Two minutes later, she sat down opposite me and sloshed a healthy amount of Pinot Grigio into my glass. “What’s the goss?” she asked, gulping down a mouthful of wine.
“It’s not me that has the news.” I wagged a finger at her. “I hear that’s you.”
Tasha shook back her mane of blonde hair. “True, but we need to wait for Sara before I can say anything.” She pressed her hand to her lips.
While we waited, we chatted about her and Luke, Sara’s new boyfriend, Noel, and my currently single status. Since I’d split up with Mason, my dating history hadn’t exactly been prolific. There had been a few dates with Sonya’s son, Alex, which hadn’t come to anything, and dating the boss’s son felt weird anyway. I’d tried a couple of dating apps but hadn’t got further than going out a handful of times and didn’t really click with anyone. They were nice enough, but I didn’t get the spark.
Sara crashed through the door, causing the rest of the pub customers to stare at her. “Sorry I’m late,” she called. “Do we need more wine?”
Tasha waved the almost empty bottle at her and Sara stopped at the bar before joining us. She plopped down into the seat next to Tasha, making me feel like I was at an interview.
“Right, what do we want to eat?” Sara gave the menu a cursory glance.
“Shall we get a load of stuff to share?” suggested Tasha. “I feel like picky bits tonight.”
“Fine with me.” I got up and went to the bar to order. As I stood there, I glanced back over at Sara and Tasha, who had their heads bent close together, whispering to each other. I frowned, wondering what they were colluding about. I placed our usual order for nachos, mozzarella sticks, chicken strips and cheesy chips (why change a good thing) and then went back to the table.
Seeing me approach, both Sara and Tasha stopped talking.
